Friends, a fresh, new season of Boston Celtics basketball is bearing down upon us. Seemingly freed of the toxic locker room environment that plagued last season’s ill-fated squad and fresh off an undefeated preseason, that “new team smell” is in the air, and it smells pretty good.
The Celtics were as cautious as most teams tend to be in the preseason, so apart from some assertive offensive play from Jayson Tatum and some hints of improved athleticism from Gordon Hayward, the team’s core rotation players were pretty quiet. Instead, the stars of Boston’s impressive preseason were — figuratively and, in some cases, literally — the little guys: impressive rookies like Carsen Edwards, Grant Williams, Tremont Waters and the much-loved Tacko Fall.